1. Technical Field
The present device is an all-in-one applicator for dispensing increments of liquid nail polish from a cartridge inside the applicator onto a brush at the bottom of the applicator for quick and easy polishing of fingernails or toenails.
2. Background Information
Generally, nail polish is supplied in small bottles and applied with a brush that is attached to the bottle""s screw-on cap. Oftentimes, one or more of the ingredients in nail polish which has,not been used for awhile settle out of solution, so the user must invert or shake the bottle prior to use. To apply nail polish, the user removes the cap, dips the brush back into the polish, and wipes one side of the brush along the side of the neck of the nail polish bottle. When additional polish is needed, the user dips the brush back into the bottle of polish, wipes off one side of the brush, and again applies the polish on the brush to their nails. Application of nail polish in this manner requires the use of two hands and repeated trips to the bottle of nail polish. When applying polish to the user""s own fingernails, this requires using the hand with recently applied polish, and risking contact with the bottle or nearby objects that may smear the recently applied polish. When this happens, the nail polish on the smeared nail must be removed and reapplied. For professional nail technicians, repeat trips to the bottle of polish and wiping off one side of the brush takes time and increases the cost of doing business and therefore the prices charged to the customer.
Also, small nail polish bottles are easily tipped over and brushes are frequently dropped on the way to or from the bottle. Young girls are fond of painting their nails and frequently end up accidentally spilling hard-to-clean nail polish on furniture, clothing, bedspreads, carpet, etc.
Currently, liquid nail polish is formulated to dry quickly upon application to enable the wearer to resume normal activities as soon as possible. The additional time required for repeated trips to the bottle of polish unfortunately allows the nail polish in the open bottle to dry out. Polish which has been open too long or is old tends to thicken, making future applications more difficult. In addition, nail polish coated along the neck of the bottle, and on the top of brush bristles when they remain above the level of polish in the bottle, tends to harden during storage. This dried polish interferes with future applications of polish and with closure of the bottle when a polishing job is finished. Sometimes it is necessary to dispose of a bottle of nail polish which is only partially empty because the remaining polish is too thick or the bottle is too difficult to reopen.
The present invention allows a user to apply drops of polish on an applicator brush from a reservoir of polish that is not exposed to air. The nail polish applicator of the present invention avoids wasting nail polish, is more efficient, and saves time and money. With the present invention, there is no need for a user to have multiple, partially filled old nail polish bottles lying around. Since there is no stockpile of old bottles to use up, up-to-date polish colors can be purchased without guilt as fashion changes. The applicator of the present invention eliminates the need for repeated trips to the bottle of nail polish and the need to wipe clear one side of the brush on the neck of the bottle.
The present invention is an elongated, all-in-one applicator for dispensing and applying liquid nail polish or the like. This applicator includes:
(a) an elongated, hollow, generally pen-shaped main housing having an aperture at one axial extremity;
(b) an elongated cartridge housing disposed within an upper portion of the main housing;
(c) at least one, most preferably one, nail polish cartridge comprising a central chamber for holding a supply of liquid nail polish, the nail polish cartridge having a first, upper end and an opposite, second, lower end, the cartridge being disposable within the cartridge housing;
(d) a brush having a plurality of bristles for applying nail polish, each bristle having a first end mounted in the main housing and an opposite, second end which is a free end;
(e) a mechanism for dispensing nail polish from the nail polish cartridge in increments, the nail polish dispensing mechanism having a first position in which nail polish is contained within the cartridge and is not dispensed, and a second position in which nail polish is dispensed from the cartridge through the housing aperture onto the brush; and
(f) a mechanism for controlling the discharge of nail polish from the nail polish cartridge onto the brush, the discharge mechanism comprising a button or lever accessible to a user.